In Diablo 4 there are “caps,” meaning limits for various values. However, an expert believes that this restricts players too much. Furthermore, it diminishes the fun of the game.
What are caps? Caps are limits where certain values reach a maximum. In Diablo 4, there are soft caps, which represent a limit but can still be influenced by certain sources. There are also various hard caps that set a clear boundary, including:
- The armor cap of 9,230. You work towards the armor value while leveling up to reach the upper limit of physical resistance and are “done with the journey.”
- A cap of 100% for the size of AoE skills – such as the Necromancer’s “Alter” skill, which curses the target area on the ground.
- A cap for stacking potions and materials in the inventory and storage. However, it is not the same for all materials.
- A cap for obols, which has already been increased from 1,000 to 2,500.
In his YouTube video, the Diablo expert Rob2628 explains that he does not find this form of “balancing” good; caps restrict the build diversity in Diablo 4. He specifically refers to “hard caps.” This means: that’s it for the value; there are no bonuses if you increase it further.
Season 5 in Diablo 4 starts on August 6 and runs until the expansion, Vessel of Hatred, launches. Here you can see the cinematic for the DLC:
“Diablo 4 is not going in a cool direction with this”
What is wrong with hard caps? Rob explains that hard caps have a huge impact on how players play and their builds. “In the end, we will all be playing exactly the same build with exactly the same values,” he says in the video.
As an example, he mentions the Barbarian. This is already the case here, as all strong builds equip the “Blood Rage” node in the Paragon board to reach the hard cap for damage in Berserker mode.
Specific disadvantages Rob sees regarding hard caps:
- The diversity of builds is restricted since many players use the same skills, Paragon nodes, glyphs, and items.
- Caps diminish the fun of the game. Without hard caps, some skills scale incredibly high, which can lead to overpowered builds, for which Rob is also known.
- Caps that relate to certain item stacks, obols, or tasks for the Tree of Whispers hold things up enormously, as you will have to clear your inventory, spend obols, and complete tasks in between.
In the video, the Diablo expert notes that he fears that other values will also receive hard caps, such as the central passive skill “Gaping Wounds,” with which Barbarian players “have a lot of fun.”
Diablo expert wudijo says in a video discussing the strongest builds in Season 5 and class balance in Diablo 4 that, on the other hand: The “Gaping Wounds” skill scales “ridiculously” high in the endgame and needs a cap and/or a nerf.
More soft caps instead of hard caps
What does he suggest? Rob notes in the video that this is “not a cool direction” the game is taking. He wishes for more “interesting caps,” meaning rather “soft caps” that influence certain values, like in the case of resistances.
The resistances against fire, lightning, poison, shadow, and cold have a soft cap of 70%. The maximum resistance is limited by this – but can be increased by various sources, but cannot exceed 85%.
Rob acknowledges that Diablo 4 needs balancing, but he is dissatisfied with the hard caps and would like to see more of the way caps work with resistances. He would also like this for the armor value.
In the video, he provides an example; the exact values can be discussed, the numbers are “random”:
- 9,000 (or 9,230) armor = 80% damage reduction – this is roughly where the soft cap lies
- 18,000 armor = 90% damage reduction
- 36,000 armor = 92.5% damage reduction
The Diablo expert notes that better communication and transparency would also be helpful here, because: You do not see exactly where the caps are for certain values in the game – and whether there are any at all. For one value, this has now been added, and a tooltip in Diablo 4 shows a cap. However, a player overlooked the change and gathered far too much of the strongest defensive value.
